MICROSOFT:- Microsoft is a technology company that produces and sells computer software, consumer electronics, and personal computers and services. It was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen and has since become one of the largest and most influential technology companies in the world. Microsoft is best known for its Windows operating system, which is used on most personal computers, as well as the Microsoft Office suite of productivity software. The company also produces hardware products, including the Xbox video game console and the Surface line of tablets and laptops. In addition to its product offerings, Microsoft also provides a variety of online services, such as the Bing search engine and the Azure cloud computing platform.
10 PRODUCTS RELEASED BY MICROSOFT IN 2000 YEAR:-
- Windows 2000
- Office 2000
- Visual Studio 6.0
- Internet Explorer 5.0
- Xbox
- Great Plains Software
- Hotmail
- MSN Messenger
- MSN Music
- MSN Search
Windows 2000:-
Windows 2000 was a business-oriented operating system released by Microsoft in 2000. It was the successor to Windows NT 4.0 and was designed for use on business desktops, laptops, and servers. Windows 2000 introduced a number of new features and improvements over its predecessor, including support for Plug and Play hardware, support for network printing, and support for Internet Explorer 5.0.
Windows 2000 was available in four editions: Professional, Server, Advanced Server, and Datacenter Server. The Professional edition was designed for use on personal computers and laptops, while the Server, Advanced Server, and Datacenter Server editions were designed for use on servers in business environments. Windows 2000 was replaced by Windows XP in 2001.
Office 2000:-
Microsoft Office 2000 was a suite of productivity software released by Microsoft in 1999. It included popular applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, and was designed for use on personal computers running the Windows operating system. Office 2000 introduced a number of new features and improvements over its predecessor, including support for HTML and XML, improved collaboration tools, and support for digital signatures.
Office 2000 was available in several editions, including Standard, Small Business, Professional, and Premium. The Standard edition included Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, while the other editions included additional applications and tools. Office 2000 was replaced by Office XP in 2001.
Visual Studio 6.0:-
Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0 was a development environment released by Microsoft in 1998. It was designed for creating Windows-based applications, including desktop applications, web applications, and mobile applications. Visual Studio 6.0 included a number of tools and features for developers, including an integrated development environment (IDE), a debugger, a compiler, and support for a variety of programming languages, including C++, Visual Basic, and Java.
Visual Studio 6.0 was available in several editions, including Professional, Enterprise, and Academic. The Professional edition included the core tools and features for development, while the Enterprise and Academic editions included additional tools and features. Visual Studio 6.0 was replaced by Visual Studio .NET in 2002.
Internet Explorer 5.0:-
Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 was a web browser released by Microsoft in 1999. It was the fifth major version of Internet Explorer and was available for the Windows operating system. Internet Explorer 5.0 introduced a number of new features and improvements over its predecessor, including support for Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and Extensible Markup Language (XML), support for bi-directional text and vertical text, and support for offline browsing.
Internet Explorer 5.0 was available in several versions, including a standard version and a mobile version for use on handheld devices. Internet Explorer 5.0 was replaced by Internet Explorer 6.0 in 2001.
Xbox:-
Xbox is a video game console produced by Microsoft. The original Xbox was released in November 2001 and was the first in a series of consoles that have been released by Microsoft. The Xbox was designed to compete with other sixth-generation video game consoles, such as the PlayStation 2 and the GameCube.
The Xbox was notable for its powerful hardware, which included a 733 MHz Intel Pentium III processor and a NVIDIA graphics processor. It was also the first console to include a hard drive, which allowed for the storage of game saves and other data. The Xbox was successful and spawned several successors, including the Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Great Plains Software:-
Great Plains Software was a financial and business management software company that was acquired by Microsoft in 2000. Great Plains Software developed a variety of software products for small and medium-sized businesses, including accounting, enterprise resource planning (ERP), and customer relationship management (CRM) software.
After its acquisition by Microsoft, Great Plains Software’s products were integrated into the Microsoft Business Solutions division and rebranded as Microsoft Dynamics GP. Microsoft Dynamics GP is still available today and is used by businesses around the world to manage their financial and operational processes.
Hotmail:-
Hotmail was a free web-based email service that was launched in 1996 by Sabeer Bhatia and Jack Smith. It was one of the first free email services and was initially very popular, with millions of users worldwide. In 1998, Hotmail was acquired by Microsoft, and it became part of the company’s MSN division.
After its acquisition by Microsoft, Hotmail was rebranded as MSN Hotmail and eventually as Windows Live Hotmail. It was later replaced by Outlook.com in 2013. However, Hotmail is still used by some people as a brand name for Microsoft’s email service.
MSN Messenger:-
MSN Messenger, also known as Windows Live Messenger, was an instant messaging service developed by Microsoft. It was initially released in 1999 and was popular in the early 2000s. MSN Messenger allowed users to communicate with each other in real-time using text, voice, and video chat. It was available for the Windows operating system and also had versions for macOS, iOS, and Android.
MSN Messenger was integrated into the MSN network of services, which also included the MSN Hotmail email service and the MSN homepage. In 2013, MSN Messenger was replaced by Skype, which was also owned by Microsoft.
MSN Music:-
MSN Music was an online music store that was launched in 2001 as a joint venture between Microsoft and NBC. It was designed to compete with other online music stores such as Apple’s iTunes Store and the Amazon MP3 store. MSN Music offered a variety of music from major and independent record labels, and users could purchase and download music tracks or entire albums.
MSN Music was integrated into the MSN network of services, which also included the MSN Hotmail email service and the MSN homepage. In 2008, Microsoft announced that it would be closing down the MSN Music store and instead focus on its Zune music service. The MSN Music store was closed in 2006.
MSN Search:-
MSN Search was a search engine launched by Microsoft in 1998. It was designed to compete with other search engines such as Google and Yahoo. MSN Search was integrated into the MSN network of services, which also included the MSN Hotmail email service and the MSN homepage.
In 2009, Microsoft rebranded MSN Search as Bing and launched it as a standalone search engine. Bing is still available today and is used by millions of people around the world.
CONCLUSION:-
Microsoft and its products and services in 2000 is that Microsoft was a major technology company in the 2000s and had a wide range of products and services available at that time. Some of the notable products and services from Microsoft in 2000 included the Windows 2000 operating system, the Office 2000 productivity suite, Visual Studio 6.0, Internet Explorer 5.0, and the Xbox video game console. Microsoft also made several acquisitions in 2000, including Great Plains Software and Hotmail. These products and services played a significant role in Microsoft’s success as a technology company and helped to establish the company as a leader in the industry.